Israeli President Isaac Herzog welcomed Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Tel Aviv on Monday morning as President Joe Biden’s administration presses for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Blinken touched down in Israel on Sunday night, beginning his ninth visit to the Middle East since Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel sparked the current conflict.

"The focus of my visit is intensely on getting the hostages back, getting the cease-fire done," Blinken said. "It is time for everyone to get to 'yes' and to not look for any excuses to say 'no.'"

Blinken said that he was working to make sure there was "no escalation...no provocations...no actions that in any way could move us away from getting this deal over the line, or, for that matter, escalating the conflict to other places and to greater intensity."

Reaffirming support for Israel, Blinken said, "As you heard [Herzog] say, the United States has taken decisive action to deploy forces here to deter any attacks, and if necessary, to defend against any attacks."

Herzog said that in the last 24 hours, they have witnessed "ongoing terror attacks by Palestinian terrorists."

"This is the way we are living these days. We are surrounded by terror from four corners of the Earth, and we are fighting back as a resilient and strong nation," Herzog said.

Herzog said that hostage negotiations have been held up by Hamas' "adamant refusal to move forward," but that Israel is "very hopeful" to continue working on a deal. The president then thanked the U.S., Egypt and Qatar for their role as mediators.

-ABC News’ Lauren Minore

As cease-fire talks are set to begin again in Cairo this week, Hamas said it fears Israel will put up more "obstacles" that could prevent them from reaching an agreement with Israel.

In a statement Sunday, Hamas leaders accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of putting "more conditions and obstacles in the way of reaching an agreement, in a way that serves his strategy to gain time and prolong the aggression."

"We hold Netanyahu fully responsible for thwarting the mediators' efforts, obstructing reaching an agreement, and fully responsible for the lives of his prisoners who are exposed to the same danger that our people are exposed to, as a result of his continued aggression and systematic targeting of all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip," Hamas said in the statement.

One person was killed in a bomb explosion in Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday night, according to Israeli police.

The blast occurred around 8 p.m. local time on Lahi Street in southern Tel Aviv, police said.

It was not immediately clear who or what set off the explosive.

A second person received moderate injuries in the incident and was being treated in a hospital, police said.

The name of the person killed was not immediately released.

Police forces from the Ayalon Region and the Tel Aviv District quickly arrived at the scene and launched an investigation.

All investigative avenues are being explored, police said.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Sunday evening local time ahead of cease-fire talks that are scheduled to resume in Egypt this week.

Following discussions in Doha, Qatar, last week, senior officials are due to meet again this week in Egypt. Israel has said it will send a team to Cairo to continue talks, but Hamas has dismissed any hint of progress as an "illusion."

While in Israel, Blinken is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials to press for a cease-fire agreement. Netanyahu has expressed "cautious optimism" about the talks, but said Sunday that "there are things we can't be flexible about."

-ABC News' Joe Simonetti